Triple George Grill in Downtown Las Vegas Has a New Executive Chef

 Downtown Las Vegas has become a brilliant area to stroll sip and dine.  The Triple George Grill is one of our favorite haunts and recently along with The Downtown Grand Hotel  announced that Chef  Rhori Kow has been appointed Executive Chef of Triple George Grill. 

This young rising star Chef originally from  Atlanta, landed his first Las Vegas gig in 2011 with The Wynn and never looked back. Most recently serving as Chef de Cuisine at Wicked Spoon Buffet, his career has seen a continuous rise towards the top and arrives at Triple George Grill with nearly 15 years of hospitality management and fine dining experience.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” noted Kow. “The food scene in Downtown Las Vegas is a growing phenomenon and Triple George Grill was one of the first to do it right. It’s important to uphold the current standard that was established long before I arrived but I also look forward to inserting my personality and passion into everything we do.”

Chef Kow will take the reigns from Chef Brearley Hernandez who was recently promoted to Executive Chef of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino, overseeing culinary operations within the hotel.

“Chef Brearley was a staple at Triple George Grill but luckily, he’s not going far,” said Case Cicchelli, Managing Director 3^rd Street Restaurant Group. “We have established ourselves as one of the top restaurants in Downtown Las Vegas over the past thirteen years and that’s not going to change. Rhori brings a great deal of energy and flair to Triple George Grill and he will be a great addition to our team.” 

On our next visit to downtown Las Vegas will of course include a visit to Triple George and meet Chef Kow.

Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit Returns To Las Vegas May 9-12th 2019.

Tickets are now on sale for the 13th annual culinary extravaganza May 9–12. The events feature a world-class lineup of renowned celebrity chefs, restaurateurs, master sommeliers and mixologists from the world class resorts on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Big names will shine such as Roy Choi, Christina Tosi, Gordon Ramsay, Lisa Vanderpump, Guy Fieri, Masaharu Morimoto, Guy Savoy, Julian Serrano, Michael Mina, Mark LoRusso, Nobu Matsuhisa, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, Will Guidara and many more on the Las Vegas strip.

“Over the years, Las Vegas has evolved into one of the world’s most exciting culinary destinations,” said Cathy Tull, chief marketing officer for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We’re excited to partner with Bon Appétit to showcase this incredibly comprehensive collection of distinguished restaurants, chefs, master sommeliers and unique epicurean experiences, all in one thrilling weekend.”

This year, one can choose from a variety of experiences from intimate dinners to large-scale tastings. Favorites of past events include the renown Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace, Picnic at The Park, MGM Resorts' outdoor dining and entertainment district. This year, exciting new experiences include Roses and Rosé with Lisa Vanderpump, Champagne Brunch & Truffle-Making with Christina Tosi and a Master dinner with Gordon Ramsay and his favorite things just to name a few.

“We are excited to head back to the Strip to celebrate 13 years of Uncork’d,” said Adam Rapoport, editor in chief of Bon Appétit. “Nowhere else can you experience this stellar lineup of chefs, resort partners and brands. This year promises to be nothing short of incredible.”

Go behind the scenes and enjoy Perfect Peking Duck and Other Secrets of Chinese Cooking with Chef Ming Yu. The renown five-star Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas will be the venue for an exclusive interactive cooking demonstration. Learn the secrets to cooking perfectly crispy Peking duck as well as several of the restaurant’s renowned signature dishes.

Who doesn’t like Champagne and Truffles? Have Brunch and learn Truffle-Making with Christina Tosi (The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas), Saturday, May 11.

The brand-new NoMad will host Under the Stars at The NoMad Pool (NoMad Las Vegas, located at Park MGM), Saturday, May 11: Join fellow guests for a roof deck pool party led by Will Guidara, restaurateur of the 2017 World’s Best Restaurant as well as The NoMad Restaurant. Sip and enjoy expertly crafted cocktails while dining on elevated casual fare under the stars.

Vegas Uncork’d is a premier experience that is unmatched. A prestigious line up of celebrity chefs, mixologists and sommeliers come together under the neon lights in Las Vegas to provide guests an opportunity to make memories that will last a life time.

UNLVino 2019 CELEBRATES ITS 45TH YEAR IN LAS VEGAS.

Its that time a year again to “Take a Sip for Scholarship” and Indulge in wine, spirits, beer and creative dishes starting with Bubble-Licious, Sake Fever and the Grand Tasting. It is a brilliant way to celebrate for three straight days April 11-13, 2019 while raising funds for the hospitality program at UNLV.

Artist Romero Britto

UNLVino has been sponsored by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Nevada from the very beginning and returns for its 45th year. In Fact, it is Las Vegas’ longest running wine and food festival. These exciting events combine to benefit the students of UNLV’s Harrah College of Hospitality.

It all starts with the fan favorite Bubble-Licious on Thursday, April 11 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Keep Memory Alive Events Center in downtown Las Vegas’ Symphony Park.

The next night, Sake Fever will take guests to the Far East poolside at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa’s on Friday, April 12 from 7 to 10 p.m.

The huge final event is the Grand Tasting and will be at The Mirage Event Center on Saturday, April 13 . The individual events are certainly impressive. Guests attending Bubble-Licious will revel in  champagne and sparkling wine selections while dining on exquisite bites from a plethora of Las Vegas restaurants. Tickets for this evening are $125 in advance and $150 at the door.

 The next evening, Sake Fever shows off a wide variety of sakes, Japanese spirits and cocktails as well as creative dishes from many Asian-inspired restaurants. Sake Fever has become quite famous over the years for its annual carving of a 300-lb. fresh tuna, provided by Naked Fish’s Sushi & Grill. Tickets for Sake Fever are $75 in advance and $100 at the door on the evening of the event.

This three-night extravaganza culminates in the Grand Tasting where oenophiles and food enthusiasts indulge in a premium selection of wine, spirits, craft beer, cocktails and entertainment. Artful dishes prepared by the Hospitality College students and an VIP group of prestigious restaurants and chefs work together to impress all that attend with their culinary artistry. Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $125 in advance and $150 at the door.

UNLVino has been impressing locals and visitors alike for 45 years and this year should be bigger than ever. April 11-13 there is no other place to be than “Taking A Sip for Scholarship” at UNLVino 2019.

Sadelle’s Opens at the Bellagio Hotel Las Vegas with elegant design and flair.

Sadelle’s Opens at the Bellagio Hotel Las Vegas with elegant design and flair.

AS colorful as a palate of paint and as disarming as a golden retriever, the epitomes designer and creative, Ken Fulk is a man that exudes delight and wonder with impeccable sophistication. Having a few moments to speak with this delightful designer and impresario was indeed a privilege. Mr. Fulk enthusiastically shared his creative vision for Las Vegas, namely his newest design effort,  Sadelle’s located in the former Bellagio Café adjacent to the hotel’s popular garden conservatory in Las Vegas Nevada. Working closely with restaurant visionary Major Food Group in creating culinary outlets of superb quality, Fulk along with Jeff Zalaznick, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi have formed a restaurateur dream team filled with interactive synergy in shaping spaces into dining destinations.  

 VLV: Please tell us about this exciting new project here at the Bellagio Las Vegas.

KF:  So Carbone was our first project in Vegas. This is our second collaboration with Major Food Group and the MGM corporation. We have great simpatico. With Carbone it was like how do take a classic, almost like Good Fellas Italian restaurant, tucked into the west end of new York and reimaging that in Vegas. 

In my mind it was Opera, with all these wonderful banquettes where everyone is looking at each other, where no one had their backs to the door. We placed the giant chandelier from a Ferrari dealership in Philadelphia. 

When we got the task of reimagining Sadelles, which is a charming new York storefront, I wonder how we were going to reimaging that for Las Vegas. For me it was a French Brasserie, all day long bustling with people and activity and beautiful displays of food along with the classic elements that existed in Sadelle's in New York; certainly our color palette the blue, pink and green and reimagining it here and centered with a great bar. We reoriented and created a staircase with a real sense of arrival while segmenting the restaurant so there is more of a  French café scene looking out to the pool and gardens. The bar looks out over the restaurant and the conservatory and the main dining room is anchored with centered with large glamorous banquettes. It is typical Vegas fashion like poof and we are here. 

 VLV: You are indeed extremely creative, with many different outlets, including Mr. Ken Fulk’s Magical World and Dering Hall.

KF: I am a lucky man, God made a job for me. Really it all goes back to being a child when I would pick out my little blue blazers I would pick out the buttons and it was made for me. It was about storytelling. As a kid I was in charge of every holiday and most Sunday suppers. My parents owned restaurant growing up so that had to do with the culture of it part of it, but it all seemed to be more about how life got lived. It was important to me that all these moments matter. I learned the word flambé early in life. When I saw the word on the menu, I knew they were going to light something on fire. So I loved the showmanship. This goes along well with Vegas where life is a show, and everything is ready for its close up. We are very well aligned with this.

VLV: How did you develop you relationship with MFG?

I was at my home in Cape Cod when I received a phone call from this brash sounding New Yorker, Jeff Zalaznick, and he told me about Sadelle’s concept and we have this wonderful woman who is going to do the bagels. I thought why are calling me to do a bagel store but that was not it, he want to work with someone who understands us, who speaks the same language and tell our story. I knew the idea of it, and  Saddles is the name of one of their grandmothers. So I went back to San Francisco since this was before our NY studio and came up with some storyboards for a presentation and flew back to meet the group at Carbone. I set up my presentation and said this is Sadelle's. Jeff said this is the best presentation he had ever seen. We instantly hit it off and we knew we sort of fit together. Since then we have worked on multiple projects and I have designed homes for them. They have become dear personal friends. There are a lot of great designers out there but the end of the day it is about relationships. Relationships should be treated with respect and care and we do that with one and another, it is exciting. I truly have made my life up. That’s how we do it from shoes, to books, to candles, to restaurants and why not? It has been an exciting ride.

VLV: I see on your instagram that you are a big animal proponent, especially golden retrievers.

KF: Oh Yes, I am. We have 3 golden’s and a funny little wiener dog. I am an emeritus board member of the SPCA. We love animals and center our lives around them.

VLV: What is the first thing you look at when you are assessing a space?

KF: At Carbone we did much more physical work but here I thought about my own 4000 square foot loft that when people came in they were always surprise at how big it was because I had divided it into smaller more intimate spaces. So we did this here; You have the bar, café and the grand glamorous dining space with the great banquettes and of course color. Some people are afraid of color, but I am not. Another bold move was the flooring. We introduced bold geometric graphic flooring throughout the bar and dining room and then beautiful reclaimed French oak all through the café and entry.

VLV: Now have you worked on these projects do you have more projects planned for LV?

KF:  We would be well suited for it. We certainly enjoy this and we work with an amazing group of people. Yes, I do think we will have more projects, maybe a real 1950’s night club? Wouldn’t that be fabulous?

Eataly Las Vegas is Now a Reality A Park MGM.

With much fanfare, and dedicated hard work, Eataly has opened their doors on a weekend where a reported 300,000 plus New Years Eve Visitors descend upon the Las Vegas Strip. Located in the Park MGM, Eataly’s newest addition to their already 37 worldwide locals is unique; these front doors will never close to the public, albeit that some of the indoor venues will close within the Eataly complex.

Eataly’s theoretical life came to fruition under the persistency and tenacity of Italian business magnet, Oscar Farinetti, a man who developed UniEuro into Italy's largest consumer electronics company. 

Inspired by the bazaars of Istanbul and his desire in bringing the best in Italian products within a unique market setting, Eataly was born. Transforming his nebulous idea into a worldwide reality that continues to prosper with global success, took many arduous and persistent years. Since the first opening in Torino Italy in 2007, 

Eataly has grown into more than 37 global food villages reminiscent of European markets where one could eat, shop, dine and learn surrounded by a cornucopia of local producers and Italian cured meats, cheeses, wines and other gastronomic delicacies.

According to Farinetti, “Eataly’s success is linked to our philosophy, because people can eat shop and learn, all about high-quality food, three activities that don’t coexist anywhere else. Moreover, our informal style of communication shows how direct and approachable we are, just the way people like.”

With the onset of perhaps one of the most ambitious projects to date, Oscar’s beloved son, Nicola Farinetti has taken the reigns as the CEO of Eataly USA and spokesperson for the project. He gives us few reminders of what lies behind this culinary organization that continues its ambitious expansion around the globe.

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Looking around at the incredible array of food offerings and producers here at Eataly, are the offerings standard in all the Eataly’s worldwide?

NF: No, for many reasons but reason number one is high quality Italian food is limited. It is limited by producers because they are tiny. We may have a producer that is in 5 stores and another is at 10 stores since they are small producers. We look for local producers. It is important that we also collaborate with the local community. Producers may be different, but they follow the same quality standard. Of course, there are some products that we have in every story but we augment with local producers. I think we have Creekstone, but in Boston we have another local provider as it is in all the different stores.

Do you think Americans are increasing their food awareness as to where their food is coming from and how it is processed?

NF: Food is becoming more and more important every day. None the less we are improving not just in the US but everywhere. Nutrition and our understanding of how and what we put in our bodies changes everything. It changes the way we feel, our very DNA, it changes everything.

Was that really the impetus of your motivation in opening Eataly?

NF: We have always believed that food can change everything. It is a very big component on environmental system of the world. It you produce good food it is better for everyone and it better for the health system. Cheap food doesn’t exist. If you are don’t pay for it someone else is paying for it. It is either in the environment or it’s either the person who is person who has made the food that is extremely poor and underpaid for it.

What was the driving force to take Eataly globally?

NF: It really is my father. I am extremely lucky I was born in a family where My Dad was a visionary. At times he could not sleep as he was busy creating projects. He was always creating things and making things happen. He is a retailer and had the vision form the beginning. It took me years to understand his vision. He had the vision since we opened in Torino. I think I am always a couple years behind my Dad, as he is always thinking ahead. For us, we just want to be very proud of what we do. We have created something so unique that is also very complicated and impossible to replicate. It is our happiness but also our greatest nightmare; for example we will have 75 restaurants opening in one location in one day.

What is your greatest challenge?

NF: It is always going to be people but that is the greatest challenge for humanity. Everyone who wants to grow is going to have this challenge.

 

Chef Nicole Brisson, Elaine Harris, Scott Harris

You have a wonderful executive Chef working with you Chef Nicole Brisson. She is a great team player.

NF: She is wonderful team player. We are very happy to have her working with us that has our same value. She is our only female executive Chef working with our company in the US. She is so knowledgeable about this market more than anyone of us, she knows everyone.

What is uniquely challenging about Las Vegas?

NF: Opening no, but we are working with the MGM Corporation which is challenging in a good way. We have also opened our own store in our own way, but this is the first time we have collaborated with another company that is very different in sizing and culture. It has been fantastic. Everyone says it is about scalability, as far it could be very on a Friday but dead on a Tuesday. We will find out as we go forward.

Guests queued up for hours and at exactly 5pm the doors to Eataly Las Vegas opened to reveal a plethora of imported Italian delights to sip and savor on through the evening.